"We believe he tried to kill her. Absent the cleaning woman coming in, there's a very good possibility he would have accomplished that," said Capt. Ron Montgomery.

The crime occurred about 7:40 p.m. at the Production Drive sales office for Jim Walter Homes, Montgomery said.

The man claimed to be interested in buying a house and began asking the woman questions about the model they were in. He suddenly produced a gun and pointed it at the woman's head in a back bedroom.

He made her get on the floor and dragged her by the hair back toward the office, turning out the lights as he went, Montgomery said. In the office, he put a knife to her throat, robbed her, tied her hands behind her back and sexually assaulted her.

Then he put a plastic bag around her head and wrapped a cord around it. But the woman was able to free her hands and resist being suffocated. When the cleaning woman arrived, the suspect was trying to break the victim's neck, Montgomery said.

The attacker lunged at the cleaning lady and chased her out of the building. She escaped to a nearby business, locked the door and called 911. The victim called 911 at almost the same time.

Officers arrived within three minutes, but the suspect had fled, Montgomery said. The woman was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center, treated and released.

The cleaning woman told investigators that when she got to work she noticed a small, silver car parked behind the business. It was gone when officers arrived. Investigators think it may have been the suspect's car.

They also think the attack was premeditated, based on a call the victim got earlier in the day from a man who set up a 7 p.m. appointment. He called again at 7:30 p.m. to say he'd be there shortly and was bringing people with him.

The man who attacked the woman identified himself as a member of the group she was expecting, Montgomery said.

"We're obviously very upset about it and concerned about the employee's well-being," said David Townsend, a vice president for Florida-based Walter Industries, the parent company for Jim Walter Homes.

"While the individual is at large, we're going to take whatever precautions we need to to protect her, as well as the other employees there," he said. He declined to elaborate on specifics.